Manufacture and treatment of textile materials



Patented Jan. 12, 1937 UNITED. STATES MANUFACTURE AND TREATMENT or V TEXTILE MATERIALS William Alexander Dickie, Alexander McGill, and William Ivan Taylor, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, "a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application August 10, 1932, Serial No. 628,180. In Great Britain August 26, 1931 12 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture and treatment of textile materials and in particular to the manufacture of staplefibre from spun yarns. I

It is well known that filaments of artificial material such as cellulose acetate and other cellulose derivatives, cellulosic artificialsllks, and to a less degree, natural silk are of a smooth nature, so that staple fibres of such materials areextremely liable to slip and are more difficult to spin into spun yarns than the relatively rough natural fibres such as cotton and wool. Further, spinningof such fibres, particularly in the case of fibres of "cellulose acetate or other cellulose derivatives, is rendered difiicult' by reason'of the tendency of the fibres to become electrified during the spinning operation. The invention consists in an improved process for the manufacture of staple fibre in which these difiiculties are overcome in a simple manner.

The process according to the invention comprises cutting filaments of cellulose acetate or other artificial materialsinto staple fibre continuously with their production, the filaments being treated prior to cutting with a substance selected from the class consisting of compounds having the formula R1XR2, where R1 is a hydroxy] or basic amino radicle and R2 is a different radicle that is a basic amino, acidylamino or acidyl hydroxy radicle and X is an aliphatic residue, and addition products of said compounds with acids. 'The compounds of this class therefore in all cases contain an aliphatic residue (X) and a salt-forming group (a hydroxy or basic amino radicle) and may also contain an acidylated salt-forming group (an acidylamino or acidyl hydroxy radicle). Such organic compounds which may be used in accordance with the present invention are the hydroxy alkylamines and/or their derivatives, such as salts, I

soaps, esters, acid amides, particularly of the higher fatty acids w-filliillO-Mkjllflll'iidBS of higher fatty acids, or dior poly-hydric alcohol derlv atives in, which some of the hydroxy groupsof the alcohols are esterified by fatty acids, particularly the higher fatty acids, mixtures of two or more of such bodies may also be used. Such bodies may be applied, for example, to filaments of cellulose acetate orother organic derivatives of cellulose continuously with their production by the dry or evaporative method, the filaments then being cut by means of any suitable device, e. g. as described in British Patent No. 317,026 and U. S. application S. ,No. 529,036 filed 10th April, 1931, The content of hydroxy alkylamine or other body applied to the fibres being spun overcomes any difficulty inthe several spinning steps due to a tendency of electrification.

The hydroxy alkylamines or other bodies may be employed as such, or, where convenient or 5 desired, in the form of solutions or suspension in water or organic'solvents in presence or absence of other materials. In fact, it is preferable to apply the -.bodies in solvents which can be wholly or partially removed from the fibres after cutting to leave the fibres with the required quantity of the applied body'and at the degree d of dryness necessary for the subsequent spinning operation; The bodies or any other liquid in which they are applied should not be capable of exerting any detrimental action on the material of the yarn.

Though any of the simple hydroxy alkylamines such, for example, as mono-, dior tri-ethanolamine, propanolamine,- or dioxy-propylamine may be employed, it is, however, preferred that the hydroxy alkylamines or other bodies employed have a relative high molecular weight. Substituted hydroxy alkylamines such for example as hydroxy-ethyl-aniline may also be used. The hydroxy alkylamines may be employed as such or in the form of their derivatives such as salts, soaps, esters, and acid amidesand particularly their salts, soaps, esters or acid amides V of higher fatty acids such for instance, as capric, lauric, myristic, oleic, and stearic acid. The salts or soaps may be the true salts or soaps i. e. containing the molecular equivalents of hydroxy alkylamine and acid or they may contain excess of the same or a different hydroxy alkylamine or of the same or a different acid.

As examples of partial esters of polyvalent alcohols which may be used according to the invention may be mentioned the higher fatty acid esters of glycols or glycerol which esters contain free hydroxyl groups, for example glycerol mono-oleate, glycerol di-oleate, ethylene glycol mono-oleate, and diethylene glycol mono-oleate. Instead, of the oleates there may be used corresponding esters of other saturated or unsaturated higher fatty acids containing more of the filaments. For example, they maybe applied by means of wicks, pads, rollers, or other devices dipping into troughs or otherwise supplied withtheliquid. Solutions of ethanolamines in paraflin' oils, such for instance as 'solutions' of triethanolamine in parafiinoils of boiling points between about 110 and 350 C., and containing from about 10 to 40% or more of triethanolamine, may bementioned as examples of solutions that may be employed for the purposes of the invention.

Roughening media such as silicon, barytes,

lithopone, and kieselguhr, or the soluble salts deare applied in liquids of a volatile character, a.

certain amount of drying maytake place prior to cutting. Further drying may be effected after cutting, as for example by placing the fibres in bags or other containers, or on trays, conveyors or the like, either in the open air, or in closed chambers, aided, if desired, by such meansas air currents, vacuum, or heat, or combinations there of. In this way, the fibres are brought into a suitable condition for spinning, the hydroxy alkylamine or other body being left on the fibres to an amount dependent on the amount and concentration of the liquid applied to the filaments.

The drying operation referred to above may be preceded by'a preliminary centrifuging operation, adapted to reduce the bulk of the liquid on the fibre from, say, 100%, which is a suitable proportion for the cutting operation, to, say, 30-40% of the weight of the fibre, the concentration of the hydroxy alkylamine or other body in the liq, uid applied'being increased to correspond with the reduced bulk of liquid actually dried off the yarn Fibres treated and cut in the above manner may be spun into yarns either alone, or with other natural or artificial fibres, which may themselves be similarly treated or treated with hygroscopic bodies as described in U. S. applications S. Nos. 614,852 and 614,853 filed June 1, 1932. For example, fibres of cellulose acetate which have been treated according to the invention prior tobeing cut into fibre continuously with their production by the dry or evaporative method may be spun, in admixture, if desired, with fibres such as cotton, silk, wool, or reconstituted cellulose, suchas viscose. If necessary, the fibres, after cutting may be submitted to an opening operation, or,if the fibres leave the cutter in a sufiiciently orderly condition, they may be passed directly to a scutcher of the type used in cotton spinning, which forms them into a. lap suitable for carding.- g V If desired the bodiesapplied to the fibres may be removed from the yarns immediately after spinning, but in general it is suificient to allow the usual scouring operation to which theyarns are subjected after being made into fabric to effect the removal of the bodies.

What we claim and desire to Secure by Letters Patent is:-

an aliphatic residue, and addition products of said compounds with acids, and the cutting of the artificial filaments so treated.

2. Process for the production of artificial staple fibres, said process comprising, as steps continuous with the production of artificial filaments, the application to the filaments of a liquid containing a hygroscopic substance and a substance selected from the class consisting of compounds having the formula R1X Rz where. R1 is a hydroxy or basic amino radicle and R2 is a different radicle that is a basic amino or acidyl amino radicle and X is an aliphatic residue, and addition products of. said com-' pounds with acids, and the cutting of the artificial filaments so treated. I

3. Process for the production of artificial staple fibres, said process. comprising, as steps; continuous with the production of artificial filaments, the application to the filaments of a liquid containing a roughening medium and a substance selected from the class consisting of com-' pounds having the formula R1-X-Rz where R1 is a hydroxy or basic amino radicle andRa is a difierent radicle that is a basic amino or acidyl amino radicle and X is an aliphatic residue, and addition products of said compounds with acids, and the cutting of the artificial filaments so treated. V

' 4; Process for the production of artificial staple fibres, said process comprising, as steps continuous with the production of artificial filaments, the application to the filaments of a liquid containing a substance selected from the class consisting of compounds having the formula R1XR2 where R1 is a hydroxy or basic amino radicle and R2 is a. difierent radicle that is a basic amino or acidyl amino radicle and X is an aliphatic residue, and addition products of said compounds with acids, and the cutting of the artificial filaments so treated while they are still wet.

6. Process for the production of artificial staple fibres, which' comprises, as steps continuous with the production of artificial filaments, applying to the filaments aliquid containing a hydroxy alkylamine, andgciitting offtheartificial filaments so treated.

7. Process for theproductionof' artificial staple fibres, which comprises, as steps continuous with" 5. Process for the production of artificial staple the production of artificial filamentsapplying to the filaments a liquid containing a partial cutting of the artificial filaments so treated.

8. Process for the production of artificial staple fibres, said process comprising as steps continuous with the production of artificial filaments the application to the filaments of a liquid containing an ethanolamine, and the cutting of the artificial filaments so treated.

9. Process for the production of artificial staple fibres, said process comprising as steps continuoils with the production of artificial filaments the application to the filaments of a liquid containing an ethanolam'ine in the form of a solution in a parafiln oil, and the cutting of the artificial filaments so treated.

10. Process forthe production of artificial staple fibres, said process comprising as steps continuous with the production of artificial filaments containing cellulose acetate the application to the filaments of a. liquid containing an ethanolamine in the form of a solution in a paramn oil,

and the cutting of the artificial filaments so treated.

11. Process for the production of artificial staples fibres,said process comprising as steps continuous with the production of artificial filaments 

